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The fight to save Glenfield Heart Unit

Next year is also the 70th anniversary of the NHS. In order to ensure our NHS lasts for future generations we must secure a long term funding settlement, which includes a solution to funding social care.

I’ve been calling for a cross-party approach to this issue, which I will continue to push for in 2018.

It’s not just older people who need more support; help for the youngest in our society must also be transformed.

The Social Mobility Commission recently found that poor children in the East Midlands have some of the worst outcomes in the country during the earliest years of life, at school and when they try and find a job.

A recent survey by the city council showed that one in five children in Leicester are very worried about having enough food to eat, and one in six go to school without any food at all.

This is unacceptable and must change.

We will only succeed as individuals, and as a country, when every child has the best possible start in life.

So the early years and supporting our local schools will remain a big priority for me next year.

One of the things I am most concerned about in 2018 is the introduction in Leicester of the new benefits system Universal Credit.

I’ve met with our Citizens Advice Bureau, Community Advice and Law Service and Clockwise Credit Union, who are very concerned this will leave people facing weeks without any income, force more into debt, and increase homelessness and reliance on foodbanks.

I’ll be bringing all the different agencies together to see what more we can do to support people locally, and continue to call for Universal Credit to be paused and fixed nationally.

Of course Brexit will continue to dominate politics next year.

I will always fight for the best possible deal for jobs and growth, because my constituent’s livelihoods and public services depend on getting it right.